Kotaku, a question [ December 10th, 2008 ] Posted in » PC

 Greiver Avatar

 

 

 

Is it me, or has anyone else noticed that the number of posts on Kotaku’s pages seem to be decreasing at an alarming rate.  I’ve noticed this pattern over the last couple of weeks.  But before I said anything, and potentially looked like an idiot (or is that more of an idiot?) I wanted to make sure.  And now I am. 

Kotaku, as with all Gawker Network, sites use “more” button you have to click to read the rest of the article.  Can we all just agree this is a stupid idea?  The main reason for having a design like that is to track what articles are “viewed”.  It certainly doesn’t help the reader any by having to click a link 1 paragraph into a story.  Especially when Kotaku stories are very short to begin with. 

Gawker Network recently announced it was cutting back staff, despite making a profit.  They sited “troubling economic times” as the reason.  So who did they cut?  They cut employees from The Consummerist - a website devoted to helping people with financial issues.  So their most (socially) important website they cut when it’s “needed” most.

And that’s exactly what worries me - Kotaku, and the rest of the Gawker Network, are making a lot of “bottom line” decisions instead of thinking of the consumer.  I think companies should be allowed to do whatever they want in order to make money.  But as a consumer, and as one of their customers, I don’t like the direction they are going.  I’ve left websites (Eurogamer) and stores (I’m looking at you Circuit City) because of poor value/customer experience.  Kotaku is no different.  I find myself going there less and less, and I don’t even bother to check out Gizmodo anymore (for the same reasons as listed above).

Kotaku, while a little heavy on the nerd snark at times has always had valuable news.  But if I have to click additional links to read something, and sift through more advertisements with less content, then I’ll just find another place to read about games. 

I suspect any day now they’ll just have one post, and it will be a link to an advertiser. 

   

Leave a Comment

Can’t we all just get along?

 

 

 

Finally, some common sense from one of the console manufacturers- Sony this time.  As reported by the International Business Times, Sony has required that “everybody’s instruments must work with everybody’s games”.  Hooray for gamers everywhere, who no longer have to worry about where they will store their Guitar Hero World Tour drum set and their Rock Revolution drums along with their new Rock Band compatible MIDI drum set and their original Rock Band four-banger.  

 

August 28th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The Save Spot Comic #2

The Save Spot Comic #2

 < Previous comic

The Save Spot Comic is published semi-occasionally and is widely perceived to be semi-humorous.

June 20th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Guitar Hero 2: Hind Sight

 

 

 

As a kid Voltron was my favorite cartoon. Not even GI Joe or Transformers could compete. In fact, my love of that show left such an impression on me, I can still vividly remember watching it.

One day in particular stands out - for some reason I came home early from school. I don’t remember if I was sick, or had a doctor’s appointment or what. But I was home and I knew Voltron was going to be on.

The anticipation I felt knowing that I was going to sneak in an extra episode was intense. The irony is all I really remember from that day was my anticipation. But in many ways that’s all that mattered. I loved Voltron and I was convinced nothing could change that.

And nothing did. Until last year when Cartoon Network began airing the show.

Let’s just say it didn’t age well. In fact it aged so poorly that I’m in disbelief that I ever thought Voltron was good. How did I miss the gaping holes in the plot? The horrible voice acting? Even the animation was awful. In short, what was I thinking?!

That’s what I fear is happening to Guitar Hero 2.

Having spent 4 days playing Rock Band with friends, Guitar Hero just seems empty. It’s like I’m trying to play catch by myself. Sure it’s fun for the first few minutes. But walking across the field to get the ball gets old.

Don’t get me wrong, Guitar Hero was an awesome game. It’s simply been eclipsed by a much better game. And there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s the way the video game industry works.

Everything I thought was fun and cool about Guitar Hero has been improved by Rock Band. The songs are better, downloadable content is awesome, and playing with friends is just fantastic.

I even prefer the Rock Band controller.

The problem is I don’t own Rock Band. I don’t even own a 360. And while I’ve enjoyed not worrying about the Red Ring of Death, now I find myself thinking about that green and white console. I just don’t think I can go back to playing Guitar Hero regularly.

Sometimes learning something new really ruins the old experience.

June 4th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Powered by WordPress | Blue Weed by Blog Oh! Blog | Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).